Behind Enemy Lines
by TheMidnightAssassin
Summary: When Soldier loses an object of sentimental value to Gray Mann's army, he must infiltrate enemy headquarters to retrieve it. However, this sentiment and loss bring up considerably painful memories from Soldier's time fighting in WWII. And this time, he's determined not to allow this mission fail.
1. Chapter 1

Soldier flew through the air and landed atop the fragile sniper bot. Reloading his rocket launcher, he proceeded to eradicate the remaining line of cheap machines. He missed the days when he fought real men instead of bots. No self-respecting soldier would allow himself to be killed as easily as these bots did. However, the sheer number of bots always kept the fight interesting. That and how they never knew _where_ Gray Mann would strike next.

Jumping from the rafters of Mannhattan, Soldier launched a rocket and scrapped the massive Heavy bot below.

"Soldier!" Engineer called from the rail above Sniper's camper, "Sentry buster!"

Soldier whipped around to find himself faced with the massive walking bomb. Instinctively, he fired off another rocket, launching both him and the machine back several meters. The bot recovered faster and charged the supine Soldier. A split second before unforgiving steel sent Soldier to respawn, a blast of compressed air sent the sentry buster flying against the wall. Soldier returned to his feet in just enough time to see Pyro ignite the buster. Taking advantage of the soften metal, Soldier landed the finishing blow that sent the bot up in a ball of fire.

Just as Soldier flipped around to high five his teammate, a siren began to blare, resonating throughout the yard.

"Dammit fellas!" Engineer cried, "Get up here and help me."

Shaking off their celebration, the duo raced up to meet their hard hatted companion.

"What happened here soldier?"

Engineer rubbed the back of his neck, "Them scout bots're craftier than I remember."

Soldier nodded absentmindedly; his mind attempting to figure out how the scouts had escaped his ruthless attacks. Come to think of it, Scout was supposed to be in charge eliminating bots missed by the rest of the team.

With a whirring crack, Engineer's teleporter lit up and Heavy stepped from the red beam.

"Respawn is slow today."

"Ja," Medic said, brushing teleporter residue from the edge of his coat.

In the background, the first checkpoint alarm fell silent and a fresh wave of scouts poured from its doors.

With a yelp, Engineer ran back to the field of sentries he'd laid out. Heavy revved his mini gun, determined not to let anything harm Medic who had his finger hovering over the medigun's projectile shield. Soldier started the frenzy, firing directly into the heart of the scout horde.

Amidst the bullets and rockets, blinking red grenades flew overhead.

"Ack," Demoman mumbled as he ran up alongside Soldier, "Heavy n Medic made me walk all the way over here. Hogging the teleporter like Scout an rations."

Soldier chuckled. There was nothing comparable to fighting with his best man at his back.

"Alert! Spy bots!"

Soldier grit his teeth and fired another rocket. He was fine with giant heavies, rapid fire soldiers or even tanks, anything he could see. But spies were the snakes that hid beyond his vision and stalked him from the shadows.

Pyro fell back to defend Engineer's buildings.

"Ah, Pyro," Medic started, "...never mind. Spy!"

The illusive Frenchman appeared behind the oncoming soldier line.

Medic gestured behind him, "Cover us."

Spy nodded once and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.

Soldier relaxed and intensified the explosive barrage he and Demo had created.

"Engineer!" Soldier called, "I need ammunition."

The click of heeled boots came up behind Soldier.

"Soldier!" Spy yelled.

A revolver cracked as an icy blade was driven into the soldier's back.

Nearly a half hour later, Soldier respawned. Alarm lights and sirens warned that the enemy bomb was dangerously close to the heart of the base. Soldier glanced at his team PDA. Only the images of Heavy, Medic and Sniper were lit. Soldier hefted his modified rocket launcher onto his shoulder and charged out onto the battlefield. An army of scouts backed by an array of giant bots, a tank and a mecha engineer were storming the base outside spawn. And by some form of dumb luck, Heavy and Medic had kept the bulk of the attack at bay as Sniper focused on the larger targets.

With a single rocket, Soldier launched himself behind the wave. Then, the moment his boots crushed the engineer, the death toll for Heavy and Medic rang out simultaneously. Before Soldier could turn back, the base exploded in a wall of fire and dirt. The shockwave alone left Soldier sprawled on his stomach, all his gear ripped from his grip and scattered around him.

As he lay there, helplessly sucking in dust with practically collapsed lungs, his mind began to panic. No longer was Soldier sprawled in red fatigues, but rather, hunched behind a dated trench clutching his helmet to his head. The oncoming German army frightened him, the only thing he'd fought before were small groups he'd ambushed on the road. This was an entire army. An entire army that sent explosive shells, aircraft and tanks hurdling towards the American line.

But this time, he wasn't alone. Unlike every other attack, he had good American men to back him up.

"C'mon Solly! Stop cowering and start shooting!" Yelled his fellow soldier; Parker. "What's it you always say? Uh, if fighting will result in victory then you gotta fight or something along those lines."

Soldier clutched his automatic closer to his chest. "I don't see you rushing into battle cupcake."

"Then let's get going you old bran muffin, the enemy ain't gonna wait for us."

Parker hefted himself out of the trench and turned back to his petrified friend.

"You know," he said as quietly as the surrounding battle would allow, "it's a hellava lot easier to face you're fears when you aren't the only one fighting them."

Jane Doe looked up and took his comrade's trembling hand. With Parker's help, Soldier scrambled up the trench wall.

"Thanks," Parker said, "I don't think I can do this alone."

Soldier adjusted his helmet so the inscription on the inside lay at the edge of his vision, "By God, so long as I live, you won't have to."

As Soldiers mind relaxed, the surrounding American soldiers faded into Mannhattan's shipping crates.

"Ha. Ha. Hey, look at me!"

Stiffly, Soldier lifted his head to a small group of Scout bots passing around his helmet and launcher. Ignoring the pain throbbing through his body, Soldier stood and charged the bots with a primal scream.

He never made contact.

"Bonk!"

Soldier doubled over and clutched at the growing bruise beneath his rib cage.

The scout above flipped its bat over. "How's that feel wimp? I just..."

The bot froze up and began beeping wildly. After a few seconds, the scouts turned in unison and ran back towards their transport, still toting Soldier's equipment.

Undeterred, Soldier slowly started to push himself forward using his feet. There was no way he was going to let them get away with this. They couldn't simply _take_ his helmet and leave. No, there had to be some punishment, and he was going to be the one to dish it out. No matter how long it took, he was going to crawl to those bots and take back what's his. He was going to...

"Mate." The barrel of Sniper's rifle pinned Soldier in place, "what're ya doin wiggling about on the floor?"

Soldier tried feebly to escape the rifle being drilled into his back, "Going after the robots."

"Soldier, they're gone. Besides, you'll never reach 'em in this condition."

"But I have to."

"Nah. It's not worth it. C'mon, let's get back to base an getcha fixed up, then you can go after the robots all bloody day if you want."

Slowly, Soldier allowed himself to go limp and have Sniper drag him away from his target.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Soldier charged from the med bay and slammed his fist on the conference table.

"Miss. Pauling!"

Miss. Pauling glanced up from a set of base schematics, "Yes?"

"I need to take an elite team to infiltrate the robot headquarters!"

"Soldier..."

"No! We must get revenge on the bots! They have defeated us and we must show them that we are not a bunch of spineless maggots!"

Medic stumbled from the med bay, gently rubbing his bruising throat, "You're not going anywhere until you put on pants."

Soldier punched Medic in the throat for the third time in as many minutes, "There's no time for pants! We need to go _right now_."

Heavy folded his thick arms over his chest, "Soldier, calm down. There is no need to act like crazy man."

"Yes, there is a need! If we don't leave right now, we will not be able to take our revenge!"

Spy snuffed his cigarette on the edge of the table, "If we leave now, do you have a plan for infiltrating the base?"

"...No. But I can make one."

Miss. Pauling furrowed her brow, "Soldier, I know you want to go after Gray's army, but we can't waste time and resources on it. I need all of you here tomorrow so we don't lose another base."

Soldier glanced between his teammates, they all wore a similar expression. The kind of expression that one would give a child who said they want to be an elephant when they grow up.

"Not one of you maggots will join me?"

"No," Heavy said, "we will not go on fool's errand. If you must go, team will not stop you."

Miss. Pauling gently nudged Heavy, "But..."

"But nothing. If Soldier wants to go to robot base, he will go."

Soldier beamed, "You are a true American son!"

With a grunt, Soldier tore off his hospital gown and barreled down the hallway, screaming wildly. He remembered doing something like this back when he was in the army to get hyped for the oncoming battle.

Soldier marched stiffly alongside a group of robot soldiers. So far, the robots were treating him like one of their own, mainly ignoring him while occasionally beeping orders that he pretended to understand. Behind the safety of his mask, Soldier grinned. It had taken all of his disguise know how to construct his robot suit. First, he had snuck back into Merasmus's basement where he found all the materials to build the perfect robot suit. He found some perfect metal arms mounted to the wall, it had taken a bit of work to get off – and then a good cleaning- but the coverings fit perfectly. Then, he'd gathered two identical fuzzy shoes that looked just like robot feet. Those had taken a bit of tactical readjusting to get to fit right. Then, he found the final, perfect, finishing touch to his disguise; a box. He dumped the pictures inside to the floor, drew on a generic robot face, added some antenna and jammed the box on his head. It was the perfect disguise.

A robot Heavy guard stopped the marching Soldier at the gate, "Beep beep. Halt. What is your unit identification number? Beep."

_Damn,_ Soldier thought, _robot speak. Just act natural._

Soldier shuffled back and forth, "Beep Boop, I am a robot and I am here to steal American jobs."

The Heavy bot clicked along wordlessly for several minutes, "Beep. Soldier unit identification accepted, proceed to bay fifty five for scheduled cleaning and maintenance."

"Beep beep. Yes, over, copy, roger roger. Boop."

Soldier shuffled through the main door of Gray Gravel Headquarters. Curious, he snuck a quick glance behind him at the heavy guard. The machine didn't even give him a second glance.

_You've done well Jane,_ he thought, _in less than a day, you have become a master of disguise and infiltrated Gray's headquarters. Hell, I bet you could even take Spy's place at this rate. Hah! And that stuck-up Frenchman says his line of work is 'hard'_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Well, here we are, the final chapter. Before you read, I would like to take a moment to thank those who left a review/comment and anyone who will do so in the future. You all made finishing this piece possible, thank you.

* * *

><p>Soldier quickly paced the crowded concrete cell. Like a caged animal, he spent all his time planning an escape. However, there was only one exit to the tiny room: an iron door with steel bars, a heavy padlock and a guard stationed outside.<p>

The old Sargent grabbed Soldier's shoulder, "Mr. Doe, please, calm down."

Soldier threw his arms in the air, "I cannot _calm down_! There is a good man out there that needs our help and we are sitting here content and lazy! God only knows what those German scumbags are doing to him _as we speak_!"

"Mr. Doe, there's nothing we can do for Captain Parker."

Soldier glared at the officer and charged. At nearly the last second, the Sargent jumped from the soldier's path. Despite the absence of his presumed target, Soldier kept going. As hard as he could, he threw himself at the barred door. Using all his strength, Soldier pulled at the metal bars.

"Help me you maggots!" Soldier screamed at his idle unit.

Five men crowded around Soldier to help. Together, the six men created a gap just large enough to fit through.

Soldier wedged through the gap first and snapped the neck of the distracted guard outside. He snatched a set of keys from the body just as a wave of American troops scrambled from their cell.

"Free everyone!" An officer commanded, "I don't care who they are, free-them-_all_!"

The officer turned to Soldier, "Let's go find Parker."

Soldier followed the man through the fray of freed people, "Do you know where he is?"

"No, but I have an idea. Recent intelligence suggests that certain divisions of the Nazi army have been taking prisoners for human experimentation. I think that's what they're doing to Parker. If I'm right, we need to find the labs."

"Is this one?" Soldier asked, pointing to a polished metal door.

The officer read the German printed on the door, "Yes."

* * *

><p>Soldier squeezed his eyes shut and slowly shook his head back and forth.<p>

_Relax Doe_, he told himself, _this isn't Germany. This is America and Gray is probably not a Nazi_.

With a sigh, Soldier opened his eyes to face the dark metal hallway.

"Just because it _looks_ the same doesn't mean it is."

Cautiously, Soldier crept to the first door and peered through its window.

* * *

><p>"Doe," the Sargent said, "over here, I think I found him."<p>

Soldier pulled back from the hideous display of human remains behind his door.

"Yes," he whispered, voice wavering.

"Look here, you'd know him better than I would."

Soldier glanced through the door's window and stepped back.

"That's him."

The Sargent nodded, "Do you want to go in, or should I?"

Soldier hesitated, the image of the marred man was still blurred in his vision, "No, I'll go with you."

"Alright."

With an electronic click, the door unlocked and slid back.

* * *

><p><em>Get a grip on yourself Jane, Parker is not here. You<em> know _that._

Soldier forced himself to stare at the floor as he walked into the room full of recharging scout bots.

_You can't afford another collapse like in Poland. Memories are not going to cripple you again. You promised that._

* * *

><p>"Solly?"<p>

Soldier resisted the urge to run to his fellow soldier.

"Solly? I-is that you?"

"Yes."

"Solly, it's me; Parker. Do you remember me?"

"Yes."

"Solly...where am I?"

"Germany."

Parker turned his scared face to Soldier.

"Solly," he said, "did we die?"

"I don't think so...no."

"Is that Sarge behind you?"

Soldier nodded.

"Solly...could you do me a favor?"

Soldier knelt next to his friend, "Whatever you need."

"I want you to kill me."

"What?"

"You have to understand Solly, these people, they tortured me and hurt me and violated me and I...I just, don't, want- to remember. I, I can't cope Solly. I've been watching you now, you and the Sarge, but then I see these walls, and this floor... and I just-can't."

Soldier's voice dropped to a whisper, "You know I can't do that."

"No, Solly," Parker's voice cracked, "please. Remember back when I let you into our unit? I couldn't do that but I did. Remember? Please, for me. _End it_ please..."

"Parker..."

"Jane! Please! Just do it! Don't let me remember, don't _make_ me remember! I. Want. To. Die. Give me that please! I can't go back, not like this...not ever. Please, please...please..."

Slowly, Parker's begging degraded into garbled screaming.

The sound of a revolver sounded throughout the small room, its echo resonating a thousand times before fading to complete silence.

"I'm sorry," The Sargent said from behind Soldier.

Soldier kept his eyes on the dead man, "Where'd you get the gun?"

"The guard two doors down."

"Oh."

Then, a siren rose up from outside the building.

* * *

><p>Soldier fell to his knees before the rows of scout bots.<p>

_Get out of my head! _He mentally yelled.

He let himself fall back to the cold floor.

_Ok, focus. What did Spy say to do? Right, breathe..._

"My name is Jane Doe," he whispered, "I am 41 years old. I live in a castle that is now a raccoon sanctuary..."

Solder pried himself from the ground. Two rows back from the scouts in front of him was a single helmet sticking out above the sea of baseball caps. Cautiously, Soldier picked his way through the sleeping bots. With steady hands, he gripped the edge of the helmet with the tips of his fingers. Easily, the too large helmet slid from the scout's head. Without hesitation, Soldier flipped the helmet over to check for its inscription. There, written in curly black ink were three lines:

Live for today

Fight for tomorrow

-Parker

Soldier smiled and set the helmet back on his head where it belonged.

Faintly, a blue light lit the space before Soldier. It grew slowly brighter until it was accompanied by a metallic rattle.

Soldier peeked from beneath the edge of his helmet. There, fully awake, was the scout bot he'd taken the helmet from.

"Beeeeeeeep." It said slowly, "Activation sequence complete. Scanning area….Scan complete, activation source detected. Scanning."

Soldier backed away from the bot only to touch and awaken the surrounding bots.

"Intruder detected, mobilizing units. Beep beep. Beep beep. Requesting back up cuz I need some major help!"

Soldier looked around frantically; he'd left his robot head disguise back in the hallway. As the remaining scout bots shuddered to life, Soldier ran.

* * *

><p>"Sarge!" Soldier yelled through the panic of fleeing prisoners.<p>

"Make it quick Doe!"

"I have to go back! There's something I forgot!"

"Wha…fine, fine, just don't die!"

"I won't," Soldier called as he started off in the opposite direction.

As fast as the crowd would allow, Soldier sprinted back through the Nazi base. Though it had been several weeks, his mind still remembered exactly where they had first been stripped of their valuables before being locked in their cell. There, sitting atop the pile of fresh cloths was the one slightly off gray helmet that he _knew_ belonged to him. Carefully, he lifted the helmet from its perch and checked beneath the rim for the inscription on the inside. In his hands, he held the surviving memory of the man he'd had the privilege to call his brother.

* * *

><p>This time, there were no sirens, no fleeing prisoners, and no Nazis. This time, there was only a massive hoard of metal robots and an unarmed Soldier.<p>

"Beep. Halt!"

"Go to hell you metal scumbags!" Soldier yelled back at the heavies chasing him.

While running, the heavys turned to each other, "Beep. Response not accepted, continue pursuit. Beep."

Soldier laughed until it turned into a kind of crazed scream.

_Take that you stupid memories, _he thought _I win this time._

Reveling in the moment of pure excitement and adrenaline, Soldier mowed down the group of unsuspecting medic bots in his path. Nothing could stop him today, he'd finally won. Not only had he infiltrated Gray's headquarters, but he'd also gotten revenge. Revenge for the time he'd failed. That same time he'd been captured and the greatest man he'd ever known died. Died and yet who still managed to live on in the only way Soldier knew how to properly remember a man: beating the crap out of the enemy in his name.

Confidently, Soldier turned from his path of flight and stood to face the oncoming hoard. "C'mon you robot bastards! Get your sorry asses over here and we'll fight like real men."


End file.
